NEUTRINO DEVELOPMENT CORP. v. Sonosite, Inc.

410 F. Supp. 2d 529, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4912, 2006 WL 166577
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedJanuary 23, 2006
DocketCIV.A. H-01-2484
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 410 F. Supp. 2d 529 (NEUTRINO DEVELOPMENT CORP. v. Sonosite, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
NEUTRINO DEVELOPMENT CORP. v. Sonosite, Inc., 410 F. Supp. 2d 529, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4912, 2006 WL 166577 (S.D. Tex. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

RAINEY, District Judge.

Pending before the Court are Neutrino Development Corporation’s (“Neutrino”) Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant SonoSite’s Expert Witness Joan Baker (Dkt.# 258), Neutrino’s Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant SonoSite’s Expert Witness Donald W. Baker (Dkt.# 259), Neutrino’s Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant SonoSite’s Expert Witness Dr. Don L. Berardinucci (Dkt.# 260), Neutrino’s Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant SonoSite’s Expert Witness Cameron Weiffenbach (Dkt.# 261), Neutrino’s Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant SonoSite’s Expert Witness Jens U. Quistgaard (Dkt.# 262), Neutrino’s Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant SonoSite’s Expert Witness Jens U. Quistgaard on Lack of Infringement by SonoSite’s Products (Dkt.# 266), Neutrino’s Motion to Exclude Testimony of Defendant SonoSite’s Expert Witness Lauren S. Pflugrath (Dkt.# 267), and Neutrino’s Motion to Exclude, or In Limine, the Testimony of Stephen M. Graham (Dkt.# 343). The Court, having reviewed the motions, the responses of the parties, and the applicable law, is of the opinion that Plaintiffs motions (Dkt.#258, 267, and 343) should be DENIED, Plaintiffs motion (Dkt.# 260) should be GRANTED, and Plaintiffs motions (Dkt.#259, 261, 262, and 266) should be GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.

Factual and Procedural Background

This is an action for patent infringement brought by Neutrino Development Corporation (“Neutrino”) against Sonosite, Inc. (“Sonosite”). Neutrino is the owner of United States Patent No. 6,221,021 (“the ’021 patent”). Neutrino alleges that four devices manufactured and marketed by Sonosite, the Sonosite 180, SonoHeart, Sonosite 180 PLUS, and the SonoHeart PLUS, infringe on the ’021 patent.

Richard T. Redaño applied for a patent on the device in question on September 9, 1997. (Application Serial No. 08/926, 209). The ’021 patent, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Penile Hemodynamic Stimulation, Monitoring, and Drug Delivery Acceleration,” resulted from that application. It describes a device for “stimulating and/or monitoring hemodynamic activity, such as blood flow, in a penis.” U.S. Patent No. 6,221,021 at col. 1,11.15-16.

*534 Defendant Sonosite began as a division of ATL Ultrasound, Inc., and was spun off as a public company in April 1998. Sono-site unveiled its first public product in the realm of hand-carried ultrasound devices, the Sonosite 180, on May 17, 1999. Sono-site began selling the device in June 1999. In January 2000, Sonosite launched its second product, the SonoHeart. In April 2001, Sonosite launched a new generation of these two devices with its introduction of the SonoSite 180 PLUS and the SonoH-eart PLUS.

On July 24, 2001, Neutrino filed this action, alleging that Sonosite had illegally used Redano’s invention and infringed the ’021 patent. Sonosite answered the complaint on August 14, 2001, asserting that the ’021 patent claims are not infringed and are invalid, and counterclaimed for declaratory judgment of non-infringement and invalidity.

On February 20, 2002, after extensive briefing, the Court held a one-day Mark-man hearing on claim construction. On October 9, 2002, the Court stayed all proceedings pending the Court’s Markman and summary judgment rulings. The Court issued its claim construction on August 21, 2003. Subsequently, the Court granted Neutrino’s Motion for Summary Judgment on Infringement (Dkt.# 136) finding that Sonosite’s devices literally infringed the ’021 patent and the reverse doctrine of equivalents was not applicable (Dkt.# 162). Consequently, Sonosite’s case for trial focuses on the invalidity of the ’021 patent, which requires expert testimony about the ’021 patent and certain prior art. Neutrino has objected to the testimony of the above-named seven Sono-site experts.

Expert Testimony Standard

Federal Rule of Evidence 702 provides:

If scientific, technical, or other specialized knowledge will assist the trier of fact to understand the evidence or to determine a fact in issue, a witness qualified as an expert by knowledge, skill, experience, training, or education, may testify thereto in the form of an opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case.

This “imposes a special obligation upon a trial judge to ‘ensure that any and all scientific testimony’ ... is not only relevant, but reliable.” Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael, 526 U.S. 137, 147, 119 S.Ct. 1167, 143 L.Ed.2d 238 (1999) (quoting Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharms., Inc., 509 U.S. 579, 589, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469 (1993)). The expert testimony must be relevant, not simply in the sense that all testimony must be relevant under Federal Rule of Evidence 402, but also in the sense that the expert’s proposed opinion is based on a valid scientific inquiry. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 592, 113 S.Ct. 2786.

The Supreme Court has provided five non-exclusive factors to consider when assessing whether the methodology upon which an expert rests his opinion is scientifically reliable. These factors are (1) whether the expert’s theory can be or has been tested, (2) whether the theory has been subject to peer review and publication, (3) the known or potential rate of error of a technique or theory when applied, (4) the existence and maintenance of standards and controls, and (5) the degree to which the technique or theory has been generally accepted in the scientific community. Daubert, 509 U.S. at 593-94, 113 S.Ct. 2786; Burleson v. Texas Dept, of Criminal Justice, 393 F.3d 577 (5th Cir. 2004). The test for determining reliability is flexible and can adapt to the particular circumstances underlying the testimony at *535 issue. Kumho Tire, 526 U.S. at 150-51, 119 S.Ct. 1167. The party seeking to have the district court admit expert testimony must demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that the expert’s findings and conclusions are reliable, but need not show that the expert’s findings and conclusions are correct. Moore v. Ashland Chem., Inc., 151 F.3d 269, 276 (5th Cir.1998).

Discussion

I. Joan Baker

Ms. Baker’s testimony pertains to whether certain amendments made to the ’021 patent specification constituted a “new matter” and were therefore improperly included under the patent. 1

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410 F. Supp. 2d 529, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4912, 2006 WL 166577, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/neutrino-development-corp-v-sonosite-inc-txsd-2006.